“My focus has always been to design with precision but a level of ‘play’. I’ve spent 7 years developing my style and have worked with the best brands out there.”

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In 2020, AJ found himself graduating college in the midst of a pandemic. However, it didn’t take him long until he found himself dreaming up ways to build a career on his own. He committed himself to posting 5x a day on Instagram and Tiktok to grow his social following. This led to a successful concept series for Patagonia and The North Face which grew his following to over 100K. Resulting in no job, he created his own brand, Kumawave.

He’s now spent the last 4 years developing his presence on social media by creating concepts for brands and sharing his own style as well. He recently shut down Kumawave and plans to pursue other avenues of design.

  • I grew up in a Japanese-American household. I remember going to Japan to visit family and being so inspired by the art and culture. Once I knew that I wanted to pursue outdoor illustration, I knew that I wanted to incorporate the ‘kawaii’ and personality to my style.

  • Kumawave was my absolute biggest project for growth. I learned how to create a brand along with its vision and design rules. I did learn throughout the process that I love creating and growing a business took me away from it. There are many parts to business that I learned and I know I’ll carry that with me.

  • I tend to always ask the question, “what have people not seen yet?” That helps me come up with ways to combine unlike things or see things differently. Taking time to allow ideas to come is important to me and also taking feedback from others is ultra-valuable.